Raining on Rainee
by TheWestWitch
Summary: 'I, Rainee Montague, loathe James Potter with a fiery burning passion.' Rainee was never very good at Potions, but when James volunteers to be her potions partner things get a bit sticky. Rated T for language. James II/OC.
1. Loathing

**A/N:** So before reading this story I have a few warnings. Mainly that my Harry Potter fanfiction has quite a bit of cursing. So if it bothers you I don't recommend reading this. Also, there will probably, at some point, be some violence. It won't be gory though. At least it won't be any more gory than the violence J.K. Rowling wrote in the Harry Potter books. But really, it won't be bad. I'm pretty squeamish and I wouldn't publish something that makes me squirm, at least not in my fanfiction anyway. So, without further ado, here's chapter one! If you read till the end please leave me a review and let me know what you think, thanks! :)

Chapter One: Loathing

As a Slytherin, you would think I would have been good at potions-making. Or, er, brewing, I suppose. But not me; nope, Rainee Helen Montague royally _sucked_ at brewing potions and was proud of it. Well, no. I actually wasn't proud of it and usually tried my best to remain unnoticed by most of the other seventh years. It was truly ridiculous. I was intending to become a Healer after I graduated and probably work for St. Mungo's, but considering that I had _barely_managed to scrape through Potions in the last two years I was beginning to re-think my future career choice.

My best friend, Gemma, seemed to think it was funny that I was rubbish at Potions. Although that was because she, who was actually quite talented at brewing, was going into a career that didn't require any knowledge of advanced potion-making. Stupid Gemma wanting to be a curse-breaker, it was truly a shame that she wasn't suffering through Potions with me. Instead, I was stuck sitting beside Norman Anthony until he was confined to the Hospital Wing for three days by _my_accident.

Let's just say that the bright yellow liquid decided to solidify and then jump from the cauldron and onto his face.

I tried to visit him while he was still in the Hospital Wing, but considering his face was swollen about three times its normal size I was too nauseated to form words. I was actually kind of thankful that the swelling had blinded him so he didn't see me walk in, turn slightly green, and then quickly walk out before I could apologize for ruining his face. Again, I was beginning to re-think my future career choice.

After he returned to class, he joined Marie Evans and Sander Wood, no longer taking pity on me for being such a shoddy potion-brewer. Instead of making him re-join me, or even calmly talking him into re-joining me, Professor Twiddle merely asked the class if anyone would like to become my new potions' partner. Of course, everyone became strangely quiet and still, afraid that Twid would see them if they moved. I felt my face flushing and began to sink into my chair, considering running from the room.

I mean, I could become a curse-breaker with Gemma, or maybe I could just be a secretary for St. Mungo's or the Ministry. It would be a dull desk job, and I wouldn't be of any _real_help to anyone, but it would at least pay the bills, right? Surely I could learn to live with it.

However, before I could jump up and bolt from the room, James Potter suddenly announced, "I'll be her partner."

It seemed as though everyone, including Twid, had forgotten how to breathe out of mere shock. It wasn't just because I was awful at Potions and would probably ruin his face, too (Did I mention that Norman Anthony's face was scarred? Madam Pomfrey wasn't sure if it would be permanent or not, but either way I felt terrible). It was also because the only times I had ever spoken to James Potter didn't tend to go well.

Like on the train to Hogwarts in our first year, for example. At the time I had this awfully short hair-cut, which my mother thought was simply adorable, in which my hair fell just below my chin awkwardly. I didn't like my chin, considering I thought it was too pointed, so the fact that my hair emphasized that feature made me very uncomfortable. And don't get me started on my straight-cut, blunt bangs; I could go on about how awful they were for forever. Anyway, the point is that I was already feeling uncomfortable when Potter stepped into Gemma and I's compartment with his cousin, Freddie Weasley, in tow.

"Mind if we sit here?" James had asked, gesturing to the empty seats across from Gemma and I.

I'm not the friendliest person in the world and never have been, and considering I was already uncomfortable and exceedingly nervous about the Sorting later that night, I failed in mustering up a smile. Instead, I gave him more of a grimace and forced the words out, "Nope, go ahead."

Somehow, the fact that my words clashed with my facial expression amused him, and he raised a brow in response, "Are you sure?"

Slightly annoyed that he found me amusing, I said through slightly gritted teeth, "Yes, I'm sure."

Gemma, who has always been much more out-going than myself, piped up in her high voice, "Don't mind Rainee, she's just nervous. You can sit with us."

It took him a moment, but James lowered his brow and tentatively entered the compartment. He and Fred sat down across from us, and I tried to avoid their gazes by either looking out the glass in the door or by looking at Gemma on my other side. Even then, Gemma still had the same long, blonde and curly hair that fell down her back and these deep dark brown eyes. Next to her, I had a tendency to feel even more overlooked than usual, what with my contrasting dark brown hair and light blue eyes that I thought could be a bit brighter at the least. Maybe I was just a dull person and my eyes reflected that, who knows, but the point is that I didn't think any of my physical features were all that great.

"Rainee's a strange name," James remarked after a long silence.

I scarcely noticed Gemma glance at me curiously before I glared at him, "Like your name's any better."

"You don't even know what my name is," He said with a rather large, idiotic grin on his face. It was like it was some kind of joke to him. Fred, who was sitting beside him, had a small grin on his face as well.

"What is your name?" Gemma asked curiously, I could tell that she was trying to diffuse the tension that was arising in the room.

"James Sirius Potter," James said with an air of self-confidence that made my insides heat up in loathing, "And this is my cousin Fred."

Fred nodded in turn, "Fred Weasley, that is."

"Oh!" Gemma's features seemed to brighten up considerably, "You're Harry Potter's son?"

It seemed as though James was used to this, and enjoyed it _immensely_ when someone recognized his relation to The Chosen One. Again, I found myself loathing him for his inflated self-concept as he replied, "I'm the _eldest_son of Harry Potter, actually. Albus Severus is my younger brother."

The way he said _Albus Severus_made me think that James finds his brother's name highly amusing, which added to the list of reasons to loathe him that I had formulated only in the first ten minutes of meeting him. I'm sure you can imagine that as the years went on he and I quickly became enemies, what with the threatening to hex one another every once and a while and the constant usage of the last names.

So, I think it goes without saying that when, six years later, he volunteered to be my Potions' partner I was so flabbergasted that all I could do was splutter out half-words after he gathered his things, crossed the room, and sat down beside me. Everyone, including Professor Twiddle, watched him cross the room in near-silence. By 'near-silence' I mean that there were several people – mostly girls – that whispered things to one another that I couldn't discern as I stared at him with my mouth slightly opened.

"Well howdy, partner!" He greeted me cheerfully before starting to pull out his ingredients, textbook, and quill.

I lowered myself further down into my chair, and managed to muster up, "Ergh," in response.

He didn't seem to notice that I failed in greeting him in return, but at least Professor Twiddle took it as his cue to begin the lecture on the brewing of certain potions that could make your teeth fall out if you simply forgot to cut something wrong. I didn't pay too much attention to what Twid had to say for the entire period, considering I was staring intently to his left in my attempt to keep my gaze from possibly meeting James', who was sitting on my right.

When we were finally dismissed, I began to quickly shove my things away into my handy bookbag when James stopped my hand, keeping me from reaching my quill. Immediately becoming annoyed, I opened my mouth to tell him to sod off, but was too shocked that he was touching me to remember how to form words. So, something like, "Leggo my 'and," came out of my mouth.

Grinning like a sodding idiot, James released my hand and said, "You know, if you're going to be my partner then you should probably consider paying attention to what Twid has to say."

I had quickly grabbed my quill and dropped it into my bag as he spoke. Annoyed by his mere existence, I replied curtly, "Shove off, Potter," and rose to leave the room.

To my surprise, James rose to his feet as well and, with surprising speed, put himself between me and the door, "Oh come on, Monty," he said this playfully, and I found myself rolling my eyes at the nickname he had fashioned out of my last name, "_Everyone_ knows that you can't possibly pass Potions without a partner to help you out, and I don't know if you've noticed but I happen to make the highest marks in the class. You _need_ me, so I suggest you refrain from telling me to shove off. It might even be a good idea to try this thing called _being friendly_, although I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know how to do that considering its most definitely not your cup of tea."

I found myself hating him even more than I already did for being so much better with words than I was, but I managed to keep my face straight as I said, "Okay fine, Potter. But if you want me to attempt being friendly then I suggest you quit calling me Monty."

He seemed to frown for a fraction of a second before smirking at me, "All right, you've got yourself a deal, _Rainee_."

I found that my face flushed when he said my name, and again I was at a loss for words as I seethed at him silently. He found this amusing, continuing to smirk at me, and added, "Well, I'll see you later then," before disappearing through the door.


	2. Amortentia

**A/N: So it is a little bit shortish. The next chapters should be longer than these first two chapters ;) Anyway, if you want more you better review! If not, well, what are you doing reading my story, anyway? But seriously, please review even if it's just to say you like it or to say you want more OR even to tell me I should do something differently or to say something random (because I've received that before O_o) or to ask me a question. I'm usually pretty good about answering! Oh, and thanks to jennyellen for the first review :P NOW ONTO THE STORY!**

Chapter Two: Amortentia

I waited a good minute before leaving the classroom, letting my anger settle down enough so that if someone approached me in the dungeons I wouldn't bite their head off. However, I was still so frustrated by the antics of James Potter that I was sure my face was still flushed. Seeing as we had Potions after lunch, and there was a free period for everyone until dinner, I set off to the common room in the hopes that I would intercept Gemma. Finding the appropriate stretch of wall, I breathed the password, "_Amortentia_," noting the irony in the password being the name for the most powerful love potion in existence, and stepped into the tunnel that led to the common room.

Looking around for Gemma, I was a bit disappointed when the only people I noticed in the common room were a few third years sitting on the sofas and my cousin, Scorpius Malfoy, speaking to Rossa, a girl in her sixth year. Figuring that I may be able to appropriately channel my anger for Potter onto Scorpius without offending him, I walked up behind him and prodded the back of his head.

"Merlin's beard, Nee!" He exclaimed, making Rossa jump when he did, "Why do you have to be so violent?"

"Because nargles," I said, adopting Lorcan Scamander's usual response to certain questions he didn't want to answer. Lorcan was a Ravenclaw and was in his sixth year, but considering he wasn't exactly a fan of James Potter for always giving his best mate – and by his best mate I mean Albus Potter – a lot of shit, he and I got along well.

Scorpius seemed to be annoyed by my pointless response and narrowed his eyes at me, "What do you want?"

"Have you seen Gemma?"

"Yes!" Scorpius said, annoyed, "She's in the girls' dormitory!"

"Thanks, you prat," I remarked before turning to walk away, merely receiving a rude hand gesture from Scorp as he turned back to Rossa to continue their conversation.

I had to cross the room and push open a door before walking down a short hallway and pushing open the door to the girls' dorm. Spotting me, Gemma stopped in mid-conversation with Emmy Ross to greet me, "Hey Rainee! You're missing out on some _fantastic _gossip."

Emmy didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in Gemma's voice, but I did. Gemma didn't particularly like Emmy because she tended to be the type to start and spread rumors frequently; it was for this reason that I didn't care much for her either.

"Erm, despite how interesting that sounds, I'd really like to talk to you for a moment if you don't mind."

"Okay," Gemma said before Emmy could interject anything, "Sorry Em, I'll have to listen to you later," and then she accompanied me as I led her out of the dorms and the common room and into the silent sanctuary of the dungeons.

"So did you hurt Anthony again?" Gemma asked once I slowed down, approaching the stairs that led up to the ground floor.

I shook my head, "No, and I won't be able to again; Norman isn't my partner anymore."

"Oh," Gemma looked concerned, "Did Professor Twiddle give you a new partner, then?"

"No," I was exasperated as I spoke, "He asked the class if anyone would like to be my partner."

"Oh, Rainee," she said consolingly.

"That's not the worst part, Gem," I said, shoving her remark away, "Potter volunteered to be my partner."

She halted to a stop in the corridor, and I stopped as well, "He did _what?_"

"He volunteered," I said slowly, "To be my partner."

"You're bloody _joking!_"

"I'm afraid not."

"_Merlin's bloody sodding beard_," Gemma breathed, "What did you do?"

"Wished I would have run from the room before he said anything," I said very seriously.

She seemed to roll her eyes before re-phrasing her question, "What did you say to him?"

Instead of going through the entire conversation I had with James, which wasn't really all that long anyway, I just answered, "I told him that if he was going to be my partner he was going to have to refrain from calling me Monty."

Gemma was very quiet for a while before saying, "I see."

"I think I'm just going to drop Potions now, though," I said, defeated, "It's not worth the trouble of struggling through it with that sodding git sitting beside me the entire time; I'll probably fail anyway."

"Oh come on, Rainee," Gemma said, her words eerily similar to what James Potter had said to me earlier, "You're not going to fail Potions; you're too determined to become a Healer to allow that to happen and we both know it."

"But Gemma, even _you _think I'm horrid at Potions."

"Well..." she frowned, "I have to admit that you're right because you _are_ horrid at Potions, but, _like I said_, you're too determined to allow yourself to fail."

I groaned, "But now that James is my partner I'll be too distracted to concentrate on doing well."

"You seem to forget that James received higher marks than anyone on his Potions' O.W.L. in fifth year, and that he wants to be an Auror like his father. It may not seem like it, but James takes it too seriously to let you get in the way of him passing."

I raised a brow, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe he took pity on you and figured he could help you out."

Once again, I was at a loss for words and only managed to ask, "What?"

Gemma laughed, "Seriously Rainee, Potter isn't all bad. Or maybe he is and just lives for the amusement that comes with arguing with you. I don't know, but the point is that you should at least try to learn a thing or two from him. Anyway, let's go to the kitchens. I'm _starving _and dinner isn't even for a few hours."

Before I could fully register everything Gemma had said and form an appropriate response, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me off in the direction of the painting of a fruit-bowl. Needless to say, I didn't know what James Potter's reason for becoming by Potions' partner was, but it was certainly going to make for an interesting year. If Potter thought he would find his amusement in making me squirm, well, he _wasn't_ going to get it. I would make certain of that.


	3. An Extra Quill

Chapter Three: An Extra Quill

Once the house elves took our orders for a couple of glasses of pumpkin juice and some lemon squares, we noticed that we weren't alone. There was a boy that had jet black hair sitting at the Gryffindor table. I gave Gemma a look, thinking that it was James. However, when he turned his head to see us approaching we realized that it was actually Albus. Gemma and I hesitated and exchanged looks, but when Gemma shrugged and began to lead the way over to him I found myself wanting to make some excuse to leave. I didn't know Albus that well, but after dealing with his older brother for so long I wasn't sure if I wanted to, just in case the two of them were eerily similar.

"Hello," Gemma greeted Al as we reached the table, "Do you mind if we sit here?"

I saw Albus take in the Slytherin badges on our robes, but it didn't seem to faze him too much. "Sure," he shrugged.

"You're Al Potter, aren't you?" Gemma asked as the house elves brought our pumpkin juice and lemon squares.

Albus was eyeing our lemon squares with his green eyes as he nodded. Glancing back up at Gemma and I, he asked, "Er, who are you two, exactly?"

Smiling, Gemma replied, "I'm Gemma, and this is Rainee."

Then Albus looked at me curiously, "You're not Rainee as in Rainee Montague, are you?"

Slowly, I nodded, "Yes..."

He seemed to laugh, "Well, Rainee, on behalf of the Potter family, I am truly very sorry about my brother. He seems to think he's God's gift to the world or something."

I could see Gemma looking at me cautiously out of the corner of my eye. She was probably afraid that I'd react the same way to Albus that I normally did to James. However, it seemed to me that Albus was at least sincere with his apology, despite the fact that he was smiling as he said it. A smile formed on my lips as I said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think one apology can cover everything your brother has done in the last seven years."

Then he laughed and shook his head, "No, probably not. Do you mind if I have a lemon square?"

When Gemma and I shook our heads he took one and then rose from the table, "Well, it was nice meeting you two, but I've got to go. Good luck with my brother."

Gemma called after him, "Bye Albus!"

Once he was gone I turned to her, "Do you think it's weird that he knows who I am?"

She frowned, "A little bit. I mean, the only person that would've told him about you would probably have been James. It's not like Emmy has ever had anything to say about you."

I put down the lemon square I had been working on and announced that I wasn't hungry anymore. Then I started to swing my leg over the bench as Gemma asked, "Where are you going?"

"Outside," I said as I got to my feet and began to leave the kitchens. I heard Gemma rise abruptly behind me.

"Rainee!" She called, sounding annoyed, "Rainee, wait!"

I only slowed my pace a little, and she reached me just as I was walking back out of the portrait hole. Once we were in the corridors, Gemma finished the square she had been eating, "Rainee, what are you doing?"

"I told you," I said quickly, a little annoyed, "I'm going to the grounds."

"You really hate James, don't you?" She almost sounded surprised.

I slowed my pace and looked at her as we walked, "I guess you could say that, but it's not like I wouldn't have reason to."

"What has he ever done to you, though? I mean, I understand that the way he acts pisses you off, but he's never done anything to you personally. Or did something happen that you haven't told me about?"

"No," I huffed, "He hasn't done much to me. We have gotten into plenty of rows, however, and he's apparently been telling his brother what a bitch I am."

Gemma was annoyed, "So now you're going to go have another row with him, aren't you? Rainee, he's your Potions partner now, you should be trying to get along with him."

"Well," I said as we stepped out into the courtyard, "I don't give a damn."

Of course, James was right where I thought he would be. He was sitting on his usual bench in the courtyard between his cousins, Louis and Fred, and the three of them were surrounded by a group of Hufflepuff girls. It seemed as though the boys had just told a joke because the girls were giggling, except for one. The one that wasn't laughing was a redhead, and James seemed to be talking directly to her. She didn't look particularly comfortable, but he did manage to make her smile occasionally. It was when Gemma and I stood there, not too far off, that I realized I couldn't just walk up into the middle of that crowd. However, when Louis Weasley looked up, spotted us and called, "Hey Gemma!" I knew that the crowd would possibly move closer to us anyway.

"Er, hi Louis!" Gemma called back. When she did, Louis got up from the bench and walked through the girls toward us.

"I don't think I've seen you since we got back, how was your summer?" He asked, seeming to be ignoring my presence completely. When he did I rolled my eyes and started to walk away toward the bridge. Just last year, Louis had hardly paid any attention to Gemma, either. But over the summer she had discovered how to tame her wildly curly hair and suddenly she was gorgeous enough to meet Louis' standards. It was truly amazing how important looks were to these boys.

Then, of course, my heart nearly stopped beating when I finished crossing the bridge. Possibly the most gorgeous boy in Hogwarts was just to my left, and he was walking in my direction. His name was Logan Daames, and he was in my house, in my year, and I had had a crush on him since fifth year. He was about six feet tall, so he had about a foot on me, he had these amazing eyes that were either blue or green depending on the light, and he had reddish-brown hair. He was possibly one of the smartest and kindest guys in our year. Unlike some of the other Slytherin's, he didn't hold any kind of prejudice and, unlike James Potter, he didn't have the ego the size of the Quidditch pitch.

I froze as he approached, not knowing what to do with myself, and he smiled at me. "Hey Rainee," he greeted me, blinking in the sun.

"Er, hi Logan," I said back, thinking that I sounded an awful lot like Gemma had only a few minutes ago when Louis had greeted her, "How are you?"

"I'm all right," Logan's grin remained on his face as he stopped in front of me, "What about you? How have you been, Rainee?"

"I've been well," I hoped that I didn't sound as nervous as I felt, and I managed to keep smiling at him.

"Well uh, that's good. I was just down by the lake, actually. The breeze coming off the water is particularly nice today. Er, anyway, I guess I'll just be going," then he added with a smile as he started to walk past me, "I'll see you later, Rainee."

"Er, okay!" I called back, waving at him. Then, of course, I lowered my hand when he turned around before putting my palm to my face. I had probably looked like an idiot when I stood there waving at him. When I removed my hand from my face I saw Gemma emerge from the bridge, and she looked rather annoyed when she saw me standing there.

"Way to leave me alone with him! What kind of best friend are you, anyway?"

"Well," I thought for a moment, and then a smirk formed on my face, "Maybe not the 'best' kind."

* * *

"Rainee, no – the boomslang skin goes in later," James said as he pushed by hand away from the cauldron the next week. We were working on the Polyjuice potion, and, surprisingly, ours was the best-looking one in the classroom thus far. Of course, it would take a month before it would be finished, but even on the days we weren't adding anything to it or stirring it we would still take it out of the cupboards to check on it.

I glared at him intensely as he stirred in a small vial of dark liquid. When he was finished, he grinned before turning to look at me. Upon seeing my glare, however, his smile faded, "What's wrong now?"

"Nothing," I spat quickly. Seeing as we weren't currently in class, but just checking on the potion during a free period, I rose to my feet and put the boomslang skin back into its place. The less time I had to spend with him the better.

When I turned around, James was standing maybe two feet away from me. This was entirely too close for my comfort, especially when we were the only ones in the room. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but I guessed it was something between guilt and frustration.

"What?" I asked when he just continued to stare at me without saying another word.

I didn't expect what he asked next, "What are you doing on Saturday?"

"Studying, I guess," it took a moment for it to occur to me that he was possibly asking me if I wanted to do something with _him_. This confused me, of course, but for some reason it also made my cheeks warm, "Why?"

When he shrugged, I breathed a breath of relief. But then he said, "I was thinking that if you were free it might not be a bad idea for us to hang out."

"Hang out?" I nearly choked on the words, "_hang out?_"

Then he shrugged again, and I was screaming at him internally for _shrugging _like it was no big deal.

"What do you mean by 'hang out'?" I reiterated when he didn't say anything.

"I mean hang out like people tend to do when they want to get to know one another better," James said simply. I still didn't understand why he was asking – surely it had crossed his mind that the _last _thing I wanted to do was spend time with him. It further confused me that he wasn't smirking at me. For some reason, he didn't find me amusing this time and that was just so wrong that I didn't know what to make of it.

"Why?"

At this, James rolled his eyes impatiently, "I was thinking that it might help us to work together more efficiently. But, if you don't want to try it, then that's fine."

My brows furrowed together, "I don't think that will help at all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Gemma."

Without another word, I pushed past him and started out the door. To my surprise, he didn't say anything else to me as I left.

For the rest of the week, I pretended that James didn't exist. This wasn't entirely possible to do during Potions, or when we went to check on our cauldron again on Friday, of course. But he resigned to only speaking to me if he needed me to hand him something. In fact, he didn't even look at me if he could help it. It was actually kind of nice, not having to deal with him smirking at me all the time anymore, but at the same time I couldn't help but wonder if I had offended him.

At first, the idea made me feel a little guilty. But the reality was that I didn't want to spend time with him, considering what a prat he was. Then, of course, it wasn't _my _fault that he was such a prat. So, really, why should I have felt guilty anyway?

I guess it shouldn't have surprised me when James approached me in the library on Saturday anyway. I was trying to finish up an essay for Transfiguration when I peered over my book and saw him peeking from around a bookshelf at me. At first, I thought I was imagining seeing someone there. But when I did a double-take and let the book fall flat onto the table I knew there was no mistake. James was definitely there, and he was definitely spying on me while I read.

I took a moment to rub my tired face before looking back over to the shelf he was hiding behind. "I know you're there," I called in something that was a mix between a whisper and a yell.

When James stuck his head out from behind the bookshelf again, and saw me looking at him impatiently, he tried to offer me a grin. Stepping out from behind it, he approached the table with his bookbag slung over his shoulder. I frowned as I realized he was going to sit with me, regardless of whether I liked it or not.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked as he sat down, not bothering to wait for my answer.

"Yes, I do," I said, pulling myself and my things away from him as if he carried a disease.

I knew he heard what I said, but he just grinned coyly and said, "Great, thanks." Then he started to pull some parchment as well as a text from his bag. Seeming to not be able to find something, he looked to me and asked, "You don't happen to have an extra quill, do you?"

I raised a brow, "Seriously?"

"Seriously, Rain. Do you have one or not?"

I gaped at him – nobody has ever called me Rain before unless they had a death wish. He didn't seem to notice though as he opened his text, thumbing through the pages until he came to the right one. Rolling my eyes dramatically, I answered, "Yeah, I have an extra quill," before pulling one out of a pouch on my own bag and throwing it at him.

Impressively, he caught it just before it would have hit him in the face. Damn his Quidditch skills. He smiled at me again as he said thanks before starting to take notes on the text he was reading.

I honestly tried to focus on my Transfiguraton essay again, but couldn't help glancing up at him every few moments. I didn't know what to expect from James anymore, considering all that had happened in the last few weeks. First, he volunteered to be my damned Potions partner. Then, seemingly on a whim, he works up the nerve to ask me to hang out with him. And _then_, even after I tell him no, he stalks me in the library before inviting himself to my table.

After several minutes, he noticed me glancing up at him cautiously. "Yes?" He asked, looking at me curiously.

I looked around, wondering if anyone else in the library had seemed to notice. But, considering we were surrounded by nothing other than bookshelves, there was nobody there that didn't have their nose buried in a book. Looking back to James, I sighed, "What are you playing at?"

"Playing?" He smirked, "I'm not playing anything. I'm just trying to study with my favorite Potions partner."

"That's not funny," I stated simply, "In fact, you're just being a total prat and it's very irritating."

"Oh come on," James laughed quietly, "I'm just teasing at all."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not finding it amusing."

"Do you find _anything _amusing?"

I looked at him, shocked and very clearly offended, "Do _what?_"

He looked very serious as he re-phrased, "I was just asking if you find anything amusing. You know, _anything _– anything at all?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I find many things amusing!" I raised my voice, temporarily forgetting that I was in the library, "Actually, I would find it amusing if you fell down a flight of stairs!"

Before he could say anything else, Madam Pince appeared out of nowhere. Before she could tell me to leave though, I said to her, "Don't worry, I'm leaving now anyway!"

Quickly, I shoved all of my things into my bag before slinging it over my shoulder and hurrying from the library. Thoroughly angry at this point, I stormed through a corridor flat-footed, scaring everyone I passed into pressing themselves up against the walls. It wasn't until I reached the dungeons that I realized James still had my extra quill. Instead of going back to get it from him, I huffed angrily as I passed through the common room and then proceeded to throw myself down onto my four-poster when I reached the girls' dormitory.

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Not sure when I'll update again, but it shouldn't be a three month wait like it was between this and the last chapter. heheh. Anyway, leave me reviews please. :)**


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